Tuesday, February 3, 2009

It’s not fun to be pummeled

Last week, we sat atop the league at 14-2. We looked down upon the competition from our mighty perch. They cowered before us. We faced PBR, poised to leave the league in our dust. Last week, we were humbled. This week, we were pummeled. The team named after No. 2 sat in the No.2 position, positioned in Lane 11, going head to head against the team named Team 2. Too many two’s to ponder, me thinks. In the first game, we were thrown to the ground like a piece of cheap garbage as we sat hopelessly and watched the deuces put up three scores over 220, totaling a game of 1011. In the 2nd, we were kicked and beaten with nightsticks as they put up a 965. We felt like Rodney King. Somehow, bruised and battered, we managed to win the third with an 884, a score barely enough to garner one win out of four chances. We have now dropped to 16-8 and likely sit in third place in the league. It was a rough night, but given the circumstances, the outcome was largely out of our hands.

While we could focus on the 382 strikes rolled by the team formerly known as Jeffrey’s Bistro, I would rather focus on our high points, and there are a few good things to acknowledge. While no new records were set for the third week in a row, there are three nice things to point out. First, I tied my records for strikes (13) and strike percentage (38.2%), but I required a 10th frame turkey in Game 3 to do so. We all picked up more than 50% of our single pin spare chances, and as a team recorded 61.5%. Finally, JD for the first time broke the 50% mark on pickup percentage, converting 51.9% of his spare tries. We knocked down more pins than last week and bowled above average for the 7th consecutive week.

Two interesting and related statistical notes. Johnebob put up remarkably consistent game scores of 157, 157, and 156, which begs the question of whether anyone during the BIA has ever come close to this level of consistency? To answer this question, I looked at the difference between the minimum and maximum game scores for a three game series, and the person to come closest was Johnebob himself from last week when he rolled 147, 157, and 152, a total range of 10. This week, one mere pin separated his minimum and maximum scores. Who had the greatest difference in game scores? Daniele, of course, who rolled 111, 150, and 193 on the 5th of January, a range of 82 pins.

The 2nd stat of week concerns my ridiculous series: 180, 116, 190. Don’t ask about the 2nd game. I have no idea. This begs the question of the largest consecutive game score drop and rise. Has anyone ever dropped 64 pins in consecutive games or gained 74? Yes. Who? JD, of course. In one day of bowling, Daniele did both on 12/15 with the series 108, 182, 116. This corresponded to a consecutive game pin increase of 74, which I tied, and a consecutive game score decline of 66, two better than my feat from last night. Other than that, my performance from last night was the most inconsistent on record. So much for my “Mr. Consistency” title.

Lead OffThe Hawkeye had an unusual night by his standards, and by that I mean that he only picked up 40% of his spares. Regardless, he had a 470 series, eclipsing his average once again. He recorded 11 strikes on his way to the most consistent series ever. His average keeps climbing slowly and steadily like the itsy bitsy spider. The Iowan has been bringing it week after week. He took two categories on the leader board: Game 2 and first ball average. It seems impossible to keep him off of there.

On DeckI predicted a 223 in Game 2. I was only off by 107 pins. Ouch. At least I redeemed myself with a 180 in the first and 190 in the last. I got the majority chunk of the leader board. In the 8th frame of 3rd game, I asked the Green Lady about the view from the pocket down there at the other end of the alley. She responded with a weak seven. That bitch. Other than Game 2, she served me well. I had a weird week. A 500 series was only 14 pins away, and there were about 12 opportunities to get them. I didn’t. I’ll do it next week, and that’s a guarantee.

In the HoleI think I cursed the Canuck on the 1st January when I wrote that his average would soon reach the 130 mark. He got close, but this week his average took a hit, dropping a single pin. In brief, the Expo had a high game of 128 and did not drop below the century mark. It was a bit of a struggle, but he did take two categories on the leader board, single pin spares and single pin percentage. He went 5 for 7, or 71.4%. For the sake of the Oiler, I think we should bring some Labatt’s, maple syrup, and beaver pelts to the Lanes next week.

Clean UpLuca’s papa had a decent week, averaging nearly 141 pins. This was a good six pins below his average, but it’s hard to complain about anyone averaging over 140. Two years ago, if we had bowled this high, we would have considered going pro. We gotta give some props to Joe, Jr. for taking both spares and pickup percentage on the leader board. Spares have been his nemesis lately, but last night, he busted the .500 mark and took the category. It was a good night in that everyone picked up at least two categories.

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What is this?

This is the bowling blog for charismatic, astute, and discriminating bowlers. The BM Report began as a newsletter for a Laramie, Wyoming bowling team, the Bowl Movements. We are, by every measure, not particularly skilled at bowling. Mediocrity in bowling is not our goal, but sadly it is the state of our team. For three seasons, we found ourselves positioned in the lower half of the league standings. Last season, we barely crested the top half. Our Monday night venue is the Bernaski Memorial League at the Laramie Lanes. At this point, you might be asking yourself why a subpar bowling team in Laramie needs a blog. Like the great conundrums of philosophy (god, morality, epistemology, etc.), there is no good answer to this question.